Obama speech hit home for some, not for others

By Ericka Mellon |
September 8, 2009

Frost Elementary School students gathered Tuesday in the campus library for the televised speech by President Barack Obama. From left are Alexandria Bibbins, Kimberlin Abeja, Leslie Pineda, Mia Green, Deaundrea Cooper and Kiposha Williams.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday encouraged children to work hard and stay in school in a televised speech that drew applause from some students while others weren't allowed to watch it at school.

Several Houston-area districts and campuses opted not to show the lunchtime address after parents expressed concerns Obama would inject politics into the classroom.

In the schools that did air the 16-minute speech, few reported widespread requests from parents to excuse their children from watching despite last week's furor.

At Frost Elementary on Houston's south side, third- and fourth-graders gathered in the school's library to watch Obama's address on TV. No parents opted out their children, according to Principal Christian Winn.

“I liked that he encouraged us to stay in school and don't drop out,” said Frost fourth-grader Kiposha Williams. “I was excited to hear him.”

A few students yawned or rested their heads on a table during the speech, but not third-grader Farrahnecia Green. She scribbled notes.

“They worked hard,” the 8-year-old wrote, later explaining that she was referring to first lady Michelle Obama and her parents.

President Obama had mentioned that his wife's parents worked hard to send her to good schools even though they didn't go to college or have much money. He also weaved in details about his own childhood — about his father leaving his mother, about his mother struggling to pay the bills yet tutoring a young Obama early in the morning.

“No one's written your destiny for you,” Obama told the students, “because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.”

Not all saw speech live

Winn said she thought her students at Frost — most of whom come from poor families — could connect to Obama's personal story. She also liked his message that children can't count on becoming a rapper, reality TV star or professional athlete as their “ticket to success.”

“We work hard to create a college-bound culture,” the principal said of her staff. “It's wonderful to have our president set the standard and state what the standard is for them.”

Not all school principals, superintendents or parents in the Houston area were as enthusiastic about Obama's speech. Several school districts decided not to show the speech live. Galena Park, for example, recorded the speech and teachers can opt to show it later in the week. The district has received opt-out notices from parents of 59 of about 21,300 students, said spokesman Craig Eichhorn.

In the Klein school district, which encouraged teachers to show the speech if it fit into their lessons, most parents seemed to let their children watch. At Klein Forest High School, for example, about two dozen of the 3,400 students were excused.

In the Humble school district, which left the decision on the speech to principals and teachers, attendance was down a few percentage points. But spokeswoman Karen Collier said the Labor Day holiday could be the primary reason.

Westside High protest

Westside High School in the Houston Independent School District appeared to draw one of the largest protests from parents. About 300 students, or 10 percent of the study body, were opted out of watching the speech.

On the flip side, David Gaines, a father of a third-grader at Roberts Elementary in HISD, said he was upset his daughter wasn't required to see the speech at school. He said she was given the choice of the speech or recess.